The K Desktop Environment

Next Previous Table of Contents

6. The desktop

6.1 How do I add an application to the desktop?

This is a simple exercise: click on the desktop with the right mouse button. In the appearing menu, select New | Program. Enter the title of the program, and soon it appears on the desktop.

You might want to change the new icon's properties, so click on the program name with the right mouse button, and select Properties. In the dialog, you should at least change the program to execute, and the icon. That's it.

6.2 How do I mount/unmount a device from the desktop?

There are two steps involved:

Make sure you are allowed to mount/unmount the device

Normally, only root is allowed to mount/unmount devices. If you are not running KDE as root (and this is generally considered a bad idea :), you must set the right for users to mount a device in /etc/fstab. This means to add the option user to the options of the file system you want to mount.

For example, to mount the floppy, your /etc/fstab should include

/dev/fd0   /floppy   msdos   noauto,user,sync 0 0

Create a kdelnk file for the filesystem

An example for a device kdelnk file is:

# KDE Config File
[KDE Desktop Entry]
UnmountIcon=3floppy_unmount.xpm
MountPoint=/floppy
Icon=3floppy_mount.xpm
Dev=/dev/fd0
ReadOnly=0
FSType=default
Type=FSDevice
Comment=Floppy Disc

6.3 How do I use a screensaver as background?

It is possible to use a screensaver instead of a background image. To do this, call any screensaver with the -inroot parameter, e.g.:

kswarm.kss -inroot &

Most screensavers will look best of you set the background color to black.

However, using a screensaver as background might eat some CPU and X time ...

6.4 How do I highlight my menus even when I don't hold down the mouse button (similar to Win95)?

Go to the control center "Desktop/Fonts etc." and click on "Draw widgets in the style of Windows 95".

6.5 Where are the icons kept?

The icons can be found only in $KDEDIR/share/icons or $HOME/.kde/share/icons. To use icons stored in other locations, you must either copy them into one of the above-mentioned fixed KDE locations or make symlinks.

6.6 How do I change the standard menu items as non-root?

Try changing the permissions and/or ownership of the directories and files in $KDEDIR/share/applnk. Alternatively, you can create a trusted group--let's say friends--and try 'chgrp -R friends $KDEDIR/share/applnk ; chmod -R g+w $KDEDIR/share/applnk' and make all your trusted users members of friends. Note that you'd still need superuser privileges to do the above, however. If it's impossible for you to obtain root privileges, then you'd have to settle for editing your personal menu.

6.7 How do I use the mouse scroll wheel in KDE?

Mouse wheel support will come with Qt 2.0. Meanwhile, to use the scroll wheel with KFM, KEdit, and non-KDE applications like Emacs, try getting IMWheel at http://solaris1.mysolution.com/~jcatki/imwheel/. You might also find the information in http://www.inria.fr/koala/colas/mouse-wheel-scroll/ useful.

6.8 What exactly is the Templates folder?

The Templates folder holds items that you can create easily anywhere (on the Desktop, or in a file manager window), by selecting the New menu item, on the context menu (right-click menu) of the place you want the item to be.

You can put both files and directories in the Templates folder, and they will auto-magically appear in the New submenu. When you select them from the submenu, they are copied to the current location.

This is exactly like opening the Templates directory and copying the items from there directly, only it's slightly easier. By default, the Templates directory is populated with only kdelnk files. These files are here to allow you to immediately begin creating devices, programs, URL links and new mime types, but you can put anything you want here.

6.9 Why can't I get system sounds to work, like for opening windows?

Make sure "kwmsound" is in your start-up script, e.g. $KDEDIR/bin/startkde.

6.10 How do I launch applications in a particular desktop?

KDE pre-1.1 comes with a program called kstart. You can use it in a .kdelnk file like this:

Name=Netscape
Exec=kstart "netscape" -window ".*Netscape.*" -desktop 2 -maximize
BinaryPattern=netscape;
Icon=netscape.xpm
Path=
Type=Application
Terminal=0

Use a shell script to do it. If you have KDE 1.0, the script should look something like this:

kwmcom desktop2 (or desktop3, desktop4, whatever)
netscape
Please note that this has the (undesirable) effect of leaving you in desktop2 while it's executing and also once it's done executing.

(On the off chance you haven't used shell scripts, they're basically just a text file you've run "chmod +x <filename>" on. They're a Linux version of a DOS batch file, but, of course, better.)

If you use KDE 1.1 then you don't necessarily even need a shell script. You just need to run the following:

kstart "netscape" -desktop 1 -activate

6.11 What should I do to get the Mac-like window decorations shown in the screenshot on the KDE page?

Get the MacOS and other themes at http://kde.themes.org. You can find other icons at http://icons.themes.org/.

6.12 I played with the fonts section in the KDE Control Center but the fonts are still way too small. What can I do?

Many users use the 75 dpi fonts as the default. If you've installed the 100 dpi font, make sure your XF86Config file has those fonts in the path before the 75 dpi fonts. Here's a step-by-step procedure on how to do it:

Edit /etc/Xll/XF86Config. Near the top of the file is a listing of fonts --- several rows: type1, speedo, etc., and at the bottom there are two entries, 75dpi and 100dpi. simply reverse their order. And while you're at it, move the Type 1 fonts to the bottom of the list (or somewhere below the 75 and 100 dpi fonts). That makes an improvement too!

6.13 Is it possible to extend the Desktop Icon Menus?

Yes. Just add the applnk for the required command to $KDEDIR/share/applnk/, or use kmenuedit.

6.14 Can I get rid of the Trash/Templates/Autostart icons?

Yes. Simply edit $KDEDIR/bin/startkde and replace 'kfm' with 'kfm -w'. If this doesn't work, here's another way. Add the following lines to $HOME/.kde/share/config/kfmrc:

[Paths]
Trash=/home/me/Trash/
Desktop=/home/me/Desktop
Templates=/home/me/Templates/
Autostart=/home/me/Autostart/

The effect is to take trash, templates, and autostart and put them into your home directory instead of your $HOME/Desktop directory. You will have to restart KDE, and you may have to delete the icons from the desktop the first time--be sure to move anything you have in autostart into $HOME/Autostart before deleting it from the desktop. And then you have a nice, clean desktop with no "My Computer" sort of look.

6.15 Where do I save my files if I want them to appear directly on the desktop?

$HOME/Desktop. You might need to refresh your desktop after you save your files.

Next Previous Table of Contents